MKB2705 Chap.2 Decision Problems and Research Questions
Decision Problems and Research Questions
A management decision problem asks what an organisation should do; a marketing research problem asks what information is needed to make that choice responsibly. Translation between them is the core reasoning task. If management wants to open a late-night café, the research problem is not simply whether students like coffee.
It must identify the relevant population, competing service options, demand period, decision horizon and evidence that would alter the launch choice. Research questions divide that information problem into answerable parts. A strong question names the construct or variable, unit of analysis, population and relationship or comparison of interest.
Objectives describe the work required to answer each question, such as estimating demand, comparing segments or testing an association. Hypotheses state predicted parameter relationships when theory and design justify a directional or non-directional test. They are not guesses inserted to make a report look statistical. An information-requirement matrix keeps these layers aligned.
For every question, record the decision use, population, construct, indicator, source, planned output and claim boundary. This exposes questions that have no feasible measure and questionnaire items that serve no decision. It also prevents a later analysis from changing the population or outcome simply because a convenient variable exists.
The chapter's independent café scenario moves from a broad launch proposal to three bounded questions: likely usage by relevant time period, barriers to adoption and which service attributes matter most. Each question requires a different output and cannot be answered by one overall preference percentage. Good translation also preserves rival explanations.
Low stated demand may reflect price, safety, timetable, transport or unfamiliarity, while high intention may not become actual use. A causal verb therefore needs stronger design evidence than a descriptive or associational question.
Before fieldwork, run four checks: would two analysts interpret the question similarly; can respondents or records supply the evidence; can the planned method answer it; and could the result change the decision? Current Week 1 teaching grounds the problem-translation logic.
All scenarios, matrices and practice prompts are independent learning material and do not reproduce live questions, marking guides or private course content.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Decision focus
- 02
Evidence control
- 03
Error control
- 04
Claim boundary
- 05
Decision use
AskSia-authored practice weighting (not an official mark scheme): Original worked model: decision problems and research questions
- +1State the management or evidence question, population and decision use before naming a method.
- +1Choose and defend the relevant design, measure, sample or analysis, preserving the correct valid base.
- +1Report the result or planned output with magnitude, uncertainty and a precise evidence noun.
- +1State the main limitation and a conditional decision or follow-up that does not exceed the evidence.
Key terms
- research problem
- A key concept in Decision Problems and Research Questions: define it in the population, context and decision for this study rather than relying on a label alone.
- research objective
- A control term used to keep decision problems and research questions technically and conceptually traceable across the project.
- hypothesis
- A boundary or diagnostic that should appear beside the relevant result, not only in a generic limitations paragraph.
Decision Problems and Research Questions FAQ
How does decision problems and research questions support MKB2705 assessment?
It supplies a specific research decision, evidence control and claim boundary that can support the proposal, class-test reasoning, SPSS report or reflection. Apply it to your own project and current Moodle task rather than copying the worked model.
What is the most common decision problems and research questions mistake?
The common failure is letting a convenient method, software output or confident phrase replace the decision question and represented evidence. Keep population, construct, valid base and design visible.
Can AI complete this decision problems and research questions work?
No. Follow the current task-specific rule. Use only permitted support, verify every source and number, author submitted prose yourself and complete the required declaration. Quizzes say AI should not be used.
Assessment move
Practise translation as a ladder: management symptom, pending action, information problem, research question, objective, hypothesis and required output. Use a new business situation and refuse to write survey items until every level is distinct. Build an information matrix with population, construct, comparison, source and decision use for each question.
Challenge every causal verb by asking what counterfactual or time order would be needed. Then run a deletion test: if an objective or item disappears, which decision becomes less informed? Repair any element whose loss changes nothing. End by writing the strongest claim each planned output could support and one claim it cannot.
Verify current task instructions on Moodle and keep the matrix as your own planning evidence rather than copying study examples into assessment.
Working through Decision Problems and Research Questions in MKB2705? Sia is AskSia’s AI Marketing tutor — ask any MKB2705 Decision Problems and Research Questions question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how MKB2705 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
